In the United States, Indian tribes are distinct social and governmental units, and the constitution grants Congress the right to interact with tribes. More specifically, the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Sandoval, 231 U.S. 28 (1913), warned, "it is not... that Congress may bring a community or body of people within range of this power by arbitrarily calling them an Indian tribe, but only that in respect of distinctly Indian communities the questions whether, to what extent, and for what time they shall be recognized and dealt with as dependent tribes" (at 46).[1] Federal tribal recognition grants to tribes the right to certain benefits, and is largely controlled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Following the decisions made by the Indian Claims Commission, the BIA in 1978 published final rules with procedures that groups had to meet to secure federal tribal acknowledgment. There are seven criteria. Four have proven troublesome for most groups to prove: long-standing historical community, outside identification as Indians, political authority, and descent from an historical tribe. Tribes seeking recognition must submit detailed petitions to the BIA's Office of Federal Acknowledgment. Consequently, the Federal Acknowledgment Process can take years, even decades; delays of 12–14 years are not uncommon. The Shinnecock Indian Nation formally petitioned for recognition in 1978 and was recognized 32 years later, in 2010. At a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing, witnesses testified that the process was "broken, long, expensive, burdensome, intrusive, unfair, arbitrary and capricious, less than transparent, unpredictable, and subject to undue political influence and manipulation."[2][3]

In May 2013 the United States' Federal Register issued an official list of 566 tribes that are Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs.[4] The website USA.gov, the federal government's official web portal, also maintains a constantly updated list of tribal governments. Ancillary information present in former versions of this list but no longer contained in the current listing have been included here in italics print.

The Federal Register is used by the BIA to publish the list of "Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible To Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs". Tribes in the contiguous 48 states and those in Alaska are listed separately.